Coming Home
by Zoe Marie888
Summary: Set in the time jump between Season's four and five.  What happens when Peyton unexpectantly comes home?
1. Chapter 1

A/N – So I've had this story rattling around in my head for the past week or so, and I felt the need to write it down, even if it is just so I can get some decent sleep lol. It is set in the time jump between season four and five, so everything up to season four happened, as did the proposal in LA, but after that it will be different. I'm not sure if this will be a one-shot or a couple of chapters, it depends on how well my muse is working and how many words I end up writing.

As always, I do not own OTH or any of the characters, and I am unbelievably happy that Season Eight is now airing over here.

Okay, so before publishing this I totally re-wrote most of the beginning bit, so I hope that it now reads better.

x

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><p>Sliding onto the red leather seat of her old Mercury Comet, Peyton reached over to press the button to lower the roof whilst glancing furtively around her. Grabbing an old pair of aviator sunglasses from the mess covering her backseat, she slid them into place before throwing the car into gear and revving engine into life. Rolling her eyes, Peyton sighed. She had only been in town for two hours maximum, but it felt like a lifetime. No one knew she was here except her dad, who was currently floating in a dredging boat somewhere off the coast of Iceland. No one had been there to greet her at the airport, and for once Peyton was thankful for it.<p>

She hadn't spoken to Brooke in a good few weeks, not since she had called her at two in the morning one random Wednesday night when she couldn't sleep, and surprisingly Brooke had answered, sounding wide awake. She knew Brooke was also having problems, so Peyton didn't like dumping more worries onto her. From the headlines featured on the front of the glossy magazines, Peyton knew that Brooke was stuck up in New York for the time being, whilst she tried to sort out her clothing company with Victoria. To the world it looked like Brooke was getting every nineteen year old girl's dream, but Peyton could see behind the fake smile she presented to the camera. Mainly because Peyton had been using that same fake smile for the past couple of months, and no one had even noticed.

Nathan and Haley on the other hand were on campus with Baby Jamie over at Gilmore College. Keeping up-to-date regularly with Nathan, she knew that they were crazy busy, trying to juggle classes, training, games and the one year old. Peyton knew that they were awesome parents, and that they were creating a stable household for him to grow up in. It was also a good chance that _he_ was with them, considering he lived with them and he was also Nathan's full time coach.

Taking a deep breath, she figured that she was fine to be driving around her small home town, with the wind blowing her long blonde curls out behind her, as she leaned forward to bring the radio to life. For a moment she pretended that she was still in high school, and that her life hadn't recently been turned upside-down. Shaking her head, she let the wind blow away that thought, loosing herself instead with the lyrics of the music playing. She refused to go down that road. Not today. Today she had something else she had to do. The reason she had come home for the first time in almost a year.

She hadn't really been planning on coming, until her boss had all but demanded that she take some day's holiday. She had booked the time off when she first started for the company, and he threatened that if she didn't go then she would run the risk of losing them next year. Her boss, John, was a complete arse, but for a split second he managed to redeem himself. Just before he stalked away back to his office with the amazing view, he had paused to look at her, before saying that she needed to get away from the office, away from LA, have a decent meal and sleep in her time off. Peyton almost felt touched, knowing that she had been running on hardly any sleep and even less food, but then the moment was gone, and he was back yelling at her to get him some coffee.

Pulling her car to a stop in her usual spot next to the grass verge on the edge of town, she silenced the radio before sliding quietly out of the car. Leaning over the side, Peyton reached over to pull a bunch of white lilies from the backseat, cradling them gently between her two hands. This journey was always painful, and today was no exception, as she pushed through the old rusted gate, Peyton felt her heart rate increase, and her feet automatically tread the faint path across the long grass to her usual spot.

Running her long fingers over the cold marble, Peyton crouched down to place the flowers at the base of the headstone, pausing for a moment to take a deep breath to calm her racing heart. Twisting around slightly, so that she could sit facing the headstone, she shuffled backwards so that her back was resting against a nearby tree, and she stretched her long legs out in front of her. No matter how many times she had sat here, and no matter how many years passed, this week always hit her the hardest. _He_ knew that, and he had once made her a promise in their junior year that she would never be alone during this week. But that was just one more promise that he had broken, and here she was once again.

Resting her head back against the tree, Peyton could feel the tears begin to build behind her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She had built a wall around her heart months ago, and she refused to let it crumble now. It was normal for people to always leave her, and she was now a pro at dealing with the aftermath.

Standing quickly, not wanting to be here when she eventually did crack, Peyton quickly brushed underneath her eyes before gently pulling one of the lilies from the bunch. "I'll come back tomorrow, Mom," she whispered under her breath, just as a gently breeze lifted her hair. Exiting the cemetery the same way she came in, she decided she needed some support, and she knew exactly where to go.

Pulling her car into the drive and automatically parking it in the empty garage, she was surprised when it sputtered to a stop before dying completely. _'Wow that had great timing,'_ Peyton thought, but considering her car hadn't really been driven frequently over the past year it was to be expected.

Climbing out of her now broken down car, Peyton lifted the hood and stared at the engine for a moment, before walking away and pulling the garage door closed behind her. Walking up the porch steps, and knocking on the front door, she played nervously with the stem of the delicate flower. Usually she would just walk in, but it didn't feel right anymore. Standing apprehensively on the porch, Peyton debated just walking home and burying her head underneath her covers, but with Brooke out of town she knew there was nobody to try and drag her back out, or in typical Brooke fashion, climb in underneath with her.

She missed her best friend. She hated that they were separated by the entire country, and without her Peyton felt like she was just going through the motions of life, with no one to drag her out of this mess. She missed everything about this small town, and for a moment she couldn't find any reason to be living in LA anymore, because her dream just wasn't there.

Peyton's eyes started to water, and the first tear overflowed just as the door was opened. "Peyton?" she heard a confused Karen question, throwing the towel in her hands over her shoulder in order to pull the distressed blonde into her arms. "Oh, honey," she whispered into her curly hair, and the dam burst.

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><p>Lucas walked out of his last class of the day, and began wandering in the direction of the gym, pulling his play book out of his bag to make a new adjustment. Sliding his pencil behind his ear, he reached into his pocket to check his phone, as there was usually a message from either Nathan or Haley asking if he could pick up Jamie from the day care, or what he wanted for tea.<p>

Living with the married couple and their young baby hadn't taken any adjustment at all on Lucas' part. They were their own little family, making sure that they all sat around the dinner table at night, so that Jamie had some stability. Plus he didn't really mind baby sitting whilst Nathan was at the gym and Haley was stuck in her weekly night class. He really did adore that little boy, but it just hurt when he thinks that he should also have this... but that dream died and as far as he could see it wasn't coming back.

Sliding his finger across the screen to wake it up, he instantly panicked when he read 23 missed calls. Tapping on the small icon it split it into two names; 22 missed calls from Peyton and the most recent, one missed call from his Mom's house. He was torn, half of him ached to call Peyton back, but the other half of him knew that the other call involved both his Mom and Lily. His finger hovered over the call button, and eventually logic kicked in. If his mom's call wasn't important, and considering she had only called once, he was assuming that it low on the panic scale, he decided to deal with that one first.

Tapping the screen, he held the phone up to his ear and held his breath as it rang, two... three... four times. Cursing, he was about to end the call and try the phone at the cafe, when his mom answered with a hushed "_Hello_?"

"Mom?" Lucas questioned, wondering why she was being so quiet, and then he thought that maybe Lily was asleep. "Is everything alright?"

"_Lucas... don't worry but I think you need to come home for a couple of days." _he heard his mom whisper through the phone, and he instantly began to worry even though she told him not to.

"Why? What's wrong? Is it Lily?" he fired off the questions in rapid succession, not waiting for an answer before starting to jog to his car.

"_No Luke, nothing is wrong," _Karen tried to calm her son, but knowing it wouldn't do any good. _"Just drive safe, and I'll see you in an hour or so."_

Ending the call quickly, whilst sliding into his Mustang, Lucas dialled a familiar number and left two quick messages, one on Nathan's phone and one on the house's answering machine, letting them know he would be out of town for a couple of days and telling Nathan which drills to run during practice.

Pulling up at the side of the road 58 minutes later, Lucas jumped out of his car, pausing for as second to wonder why the garage door was closed, before bounding up the porch steps and flying into the house.

"Mom!" he called out, glancing at the two cups of coffee sitting on the table by the couch, and heading towards his sister's room, knowing that the most likely place to find them both.

"Lucas?" he heard his mom reply, and he leant against the door frame, catching his breath as he raked his eyes up and down his mom's small frame before focusing his attention onto his baby sister. "How fast did you drive?" she demanded.

"Er... not that fast," he mumbled, crossing the room to the side of the cot to place his finger to the sleeping girl's cheek, and his heart rate calms down as he feels her tiny chest rise and fall slightly in time with her gentle breathing. "So why exactly do I need to be home?" he questioned, turning to face his mom again for a moment before adjusting the blankets in the cot slightly.

"Er... it's hard to explain," his mom began looking uncomfortable. "I think it would be best if you went out into the garage, as your explanation is there."

"Mom?" Lucas questioned suspiciously, but she just shook her head to indicate that she wasn't going to say anything else before walking from the room.

Raising his eyebrows, he paused for a moment to watch his sister, taking note of how big she was getting and he was missing most of it, but eventually curiosity got the best of him.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N - I want to thank everyone who reviewed, they totally made my day, and as always I do not own OTH or any of the characters.

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><p>The last two hours had been a complete blur for Peyton. The last thing she fully remembered was sitting at Karen's kitchen table picking her fingernails, waiting for the kettle to boil as silent tears streamed relentlessly down her face.<p>

Karen seem to understand that they weren't going to stop anytime soon, so after making coffee and checking on a sleeping Lily on the way past, she had dragged Peyton to the sofa. Setting the two cups down, she sat at one end of the sofa, before indicating for Peyton to rest her head against her lap. Karen knew what week it was, and why Peyton was home without her even saying a word. She also knew the majority of the incident that had happened, a couple of months ago between the broken hearted girl and her son, and that it was causing half of the tears.

Cuddling one of the sofa cushions into her chest, Peyton felt the pain ripping through her heart, and she felt the protective hands of Karen as she brushed her hair away from her face. This was what she was missing. This is what she had missed since she was eight years old, with the exception of three weeks in her senior year.

Eventually the months of not sleeping properly caught up with Peyton, and she drifted off into a fitful sleep. Karen watched as her breathing evened out, and like she does with Lily, she rested her fingers to her cheek for a moment, wiping away the final few tears, before stretching carefully for the phone. She knew what the girl on her lap really needed, and she was going to get it for her.

Dialling the number she had memorized, Karen sighed when he didn't pick up, and she realized that he was either busy with school or practice, and the date hadn't even occurred to him. It some point she made a mental note to kick his ass about how poorly he had been treating the girl on her lap, and for breaking his promise to her. Yes she knew about the promise and the look on her son's face as he said those words was something that was engrained into her mind. The sheer look of determination and love had taken Karen's breath away.

The shrill ringing of the phone broken through her thoughts, and she moved to grab it before it woke the sleeping girl. Moving her free hand onto Peyton's back, she rubbed gently to lull her back into a deep sleep, whilst hoping that she wouldn't unconsciously hear the conversation she was having.

Three quarters of an hour or so later Peyton began to wake up, but she was fighting it with all her remaining strength. She hadn't slept that well in a long time, and her body was screaming that it wanted more. Stretching out slightly, her eyelids fluttered opened and she was met with Karen small smile.

"Hey," Karen whispered, wondering if she was fully awake or about to roll over and fall asleep again.

"Hey," Peyton replied her voice still groggy from sleep and her throat sore from crying. Tucking her bare feet under her, she sat up on the sofa and kept the cushion hugged to her chest, a move Karen quietly noticed. "Sorry about that earlier," Peyton mumbled.

"Don't be silly. You have no reason to apologize," Karen instantly told her, twisting slightly to face her. "I told you ages ago that you could always come to me, and that hasn't changed."

Peyton nodded slowly, uncurling her legs and sliding her feet back into her high heeled shoes, which must have dropped off her feet as she slept. "I'm just gonna go and get my bag out of the car, and then clean myself up a bit," she forced a small smile before rising to her feet and heading back out to the garage.

Using the side door she slipped back into the dark garage, pulling off her heels as she walked and tossing them into the back of the car, before carefully sliding over the side to join them in the mess. Peyton couldn't help but smile for a split second at the symbolism, and a lone tear made its way down her cheek.

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><p>Running his hand through his short blonde hair, Lucas walked through the hallway to the kitchen. His mom was cleaning up in the living room, collecting the used cups to be washed and straightening the cushions. She paused for a moment to give him a pointed look as he dawdled by the fridge to grab a bottle of water, and he sighed, pulling the garage door open. The bright beam of light fell across the dark garage floor, and Lucas felt like his breath had been ripped from his body.<p>

There parked in the centre of the floor, like it belonged, was Peyton's Comet with the roof down and the bonnet up to reveal the engine. The sleek black paint and shiny chrome bodywork gleamed in the shaft of light, but that is not what Lucas had the reaction to. Hanging over the side of the car was its owner's long skinny legs and bare feet, and the hint of a grey skirt could be seen just above her knees.

Lucas felt the air inside the garage change, and he was hanging by the moment. Should he stay, or leave quietly? Considering his mom had pulled him away from college he knew that leaving wasn't an option as she would kick his arse, plus with the way that his heart was beating painfully inside his chest he doubted he would even make it two steps backwards. He was staying... but what next?

A quiet ragged breath cut through the silence of the garage, and Lucas felt his heart breaking. He knew that sound, it was ingrained into his heart and mind, and he knew that it was his fault that she was crying. His heart wanted nothing more than to climb over the side of her car, pull her into his arms and take away her pain, but his head slammed on the brakes. The last time he was that close to her she had ripped his heart out, and with it taken away all of his dreams of the future. He couldn't face that kind of pain again.

Dragging his gaze away from her legs, Lucas instead focused on the open bonnet of her car. She loves her classic car, but Lucas knew that it was a constant problem, and in fact it was the reason they had first spoken. Refusing to think about that moment, or the fact that his Uncle Keith had been the one to send him out on that call out, Lucas shuffled across the distance separating him from the car, ignoring that his heart was beating painfully in his chest.

Grabbing a wrench from the nearby tool box, clunking the pieces of metal together and inadvertently alerting Peyton to his presence, Lucas leaned over the engine, searching for the problem. He was aware of her movement in the back of the car, but he refused to look up because he knew that if he looked into her green eyes then his resolve would crumble.

"Lucas?" he heard her question quietly, and out of the corner of his eye he could see her stood barefoot on the cold garage floor. "What are you doing?" she asked, her voice breaking off at the end.

"Fixing your car so you can drive it back to LA," Lucas replied, fixing his gaze firmly onto the engine, refusing to let his eyes wander up her long legs.

"What?" she breathed out confused.

"Well I guess that's why my mom called me, so I can fix your car and you can take it _home_ back to LA," he retorted, ripping his eyes away from the engine to look at her properly for the first time. Her hair was longer than he remembered, but it was still the tangled mess of curls that he was used to, and if possible she looked even thinner than usual, with her grey skirt clinging to her legs.

"I never asked her to call you," Peyton replied, and Lucas' mind flickered to the 22 missed called on his phone. For a split second her eyes met his and he saw the haunted look deep inside, which she had been trying to hide.

"Well why else would she call me then?" he couldn't stop the words from leaving his mouth, as he tried to protect his heart. "It's not like you _need_ me for anything else."

"God Lucas, you're such a dick," Peyton yelled at him suddenly, causing Lucas to recoil slightly as he felt her anger crackling through the still air of the garage. She whirled around, striding past him with her bag slung over her shoulder, slamming the garage door closed behind her.

Throwing the wrench back in the direction of the tool box and missing completely, Lucas ran his hands through his short blonde hair, mentally kicking himself. He never thought that his first encounter with Peyton would occur like that, and he was still reeling in shock when he heard another door slam from inside the house, and the quiet cries of his sister could be heard through the walls.


	3. Chapter 3

I would like to thank everyone for their reviews, they really make my day.

As always I do not own OTH or any of the characters.

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><p>Peyton froze in the mess that was covering her backseat when she heard the garage door creak open, and quickly crossed her legs together from where they were hanging over the side of her car. <em>'It's just the wind,'<em> she tried to convince herself, making herself take a small ragged breath before changing tack, _'...or it's just Karen.'_ As much as she tried to convince her brain, her heart knew differently. The way the atmosphere inside the garage suddenly changed, causing a whisper of a shiver to run down her back, and the quiet breathing of the other person told her everything she needed to know. She wasn't ready for this, not today, not this week.

Peyton stayed as still as possible, waiting for him to make the first move, for him to slip out of the door again whilst she wasn't looking and break her broken heart again. The pain in her chest was becoming unbearable again, and she forced herself to take another shaky breath. Over the pounding of her heart she heard it, the unmistakeable sound of metal scraping together, and she felt his presence move closer. _'He isn't leaving,'_ her mind was telling her trying to give her some hope, but again her heart didn't believe her.

Shuffling out of her car and grabbing her bag out of the back, Peyton slowly padded across the concrete floor of the garage to the front of her car. Painstakingly slowly she saw the person come into view, who was leant across the engine to her car, shielding his face from sight.

"Lucas?" she questioned, unable to stop herself once she saw that his shirt had slid upwards to reveal a strip of skin at his lower back. "What are you doing...?" she asked. What she meant to ask was 'What are you doing here in Tree Hill' but her voice had cracked before the end.

"Fixing your car so you can drive it back to LA," his rough voice replied, not once looking away from the engine and Peyton shuffled her cold feet nervously.

"What?" Peyton breathed, wondering how he even knew she was in town, and why he would think she would be driving all the way back to LA.

"Well I guess that's why my mom called me, so I can fix your car and you can take it _home_ back to LA," Lucas spit back out, and for the first time ripped his eyes away from her engine so that she could see him properly. He looked unbelievably good, maybe a little tired, but living with a one year old, that has to be a given. His shirt slid back into place as he straightened up, and Peyton glanced away from him.

"I never asked her to call you," Peyton replied, feeling the hostility rolling off Lucas and responding to it. She didn't remember calling him repeatedly earlier whilst she was crying, but she had just needed to hear his voice, even if it was just his answer phone message.

"Well why else would she call me then?" Lucas continued, and Peyton snapped her eyes up to meet his for a split second. "It's not like you _need_ me for anything else."

"God Lucas, you're such a dick," Peyton yelled suddenly, watching as he visibly jumped at the sound of her voice. Slinging her bag further onto her shoulder, Peyton strode past him, slamming the garage door closed behind her as a warning for him not to follow.

Striding through his house, Peyton quickly veered off into his room, dumping her bag onto the floor and pulling out items of clothing. Sliding into a well worn pair of jeans, and yanking on a tank top, Peyton dug out her Converse low tops, pulling them into place whilst walking out of the door that led outside and set off at a run, allowing the door to slam back into place on its own accord.

She didn't know where she was running to; she just emptied her mind and just concentrated on her feet hitting the pavement, leading her away from him and away from her heart ache.

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><p>"Damn it!" Lucas yelled to the empty garage, hurrying across the open space to the door, just as Lily's cries became louder. Pulling open the door, he saw his mom emerging from the toddler's room with his sister in her arms and a look of thunder on her face.<p>

"What the hell happened?" Karen hissed, trying to settle Lily by gently rocking her from side to side. "Where has Peyton gone?"

"Er... I don't know," Lucas mumbled guilty, side-stepping around his mom to his open bedroom door. _'So this wasn't the second door slam'_ he concluded, looking at the explosion of clothes across his bedroom floor.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?" his mom followed him through the house, keeping her tone light and airy for Lily's sake whilst entertaining her with a teddy bear.

"Well we kind of got into a fight..." Lucas tailed off, unsure exactly what they were fighting about at the time. Bending down to throw all of her clothes back in the direction of her bag, Lucas came across a calendar which must have fallen from the wall when she slammed the door.

Standing up slowly and flipping through the pages to find the right month to put it back on the wall, Lucas suddenly froze. Pulling his phone out of his pocket to check the date, his eyes flashed between the phone's screen and the giant red pen mark on the calendar that was circling the same date.

"Luke... Lucas!" his mom eventually got through to him, and he turned around, with his finger tracing the outline the pen he had made years ago. "You had better get your arse out of this house right now and find her," Karen threatened, all the while keeping a fake smile plastered onto her face. "You need to get over your bruised pride..."

"Is this really the date?" he whispered brokenly, cutting her off and ripping his eyes away from the calendar to look at his mom, who just nodded in response. "God, she's right... I really am a dick," he tailed off, with the feeling of guilt flooding through him, and he automatically backed up towards the door.

"Luke, language!" his mom called him just before he pulled the door open. "Do not come back until you have found her and brought her home."

"Home," he breathed, allowing himself a small smile, which Karen noticed, before pulling open the door and bolting out of the house.

Immediately a list of possible places she could have run to sprang into his mind, and he debated every scenario in my head whilst jogging down the street. He knew Peyton could run when she wanted to, with her years of cheerleading endurance kicking in, so he decided it would be quicker to figure out her final destination rather than run to catch up with her. First place that was a possibility was her house, but considering it was only a couple of blocks over, he knew that she would run further than that. The Rivercourt, the record store, Tric, the cemetery, all flashed before his eyes as his feet hit the pavement in a steady rhythm. Turning the corner, he headed in the direction of the record store, knowing that she usually finds peace with her music, and he could make a quick pit stop before heading towards the Rivercourt.

Jogging down the high street, dodging families and pedestrians, Lucas slammed to a stop in front of the record store... or to stand corrected, what used to be the record store. Browned newspaper covered the windows, and a large closed sign hung on the locked door. Stepping closer to the door, Lucas peered through a gap in the paper seeing the dust covered empty shelves. He could almost hear the echoes of music through the silence, and he remembered when his Uncle Keith, or his Uncle Keith's ghost he wasn't sure which, brought him here. During that time he realized he couldn't move on with Keith as he had to come back for Peyton. It was always Peyton, and he had promised that he would wait forever for her. It was yet another promise to her that he had broken.

Suddenly the loud cry of a baby cut through the memory, bringing Lucas back to earth with a bang. Standing still wasn't helping bring her home, but it did allow him to cross a place off his list. Logic kicked in for a moment as he re-gained his breath, as he realized that she couldn't be at Tric as it was closed at this time of the day, and Peyton had given her keys back to his mom before she left for LA.

Turning on his heel, Lucas began jogging in the direction of the Rivercourt, automatically following the invisible path that he had used countless times before. The Rivercourt was where he did his best thinking, and he hoped that somehow that Peyton would be inexplicably drawn to the silence of the park.

Heading across the bridge over the river, Lucas scanned around the court, taking in the old worn basketball hoops and the wooden bleachers, but the entire area was empty. Stepping into the centre of the court, he could make out the slightly faded names on top of the blacktop that had been written the final day when they had all been together at the end of senior year. Standing here, like he always did whenever he came home, that moment felt like it was yesterday, when they had all their hopes and dreams at their fingertips. But the past couple of months, it felt like it was another lifetime ago. Now Lucas was unsure. His heart and his head were still conflicted, but he knew that it would always come back to Peyton, even if he wasn't ready to admit that to himself just yet.

Standing by her signature on the Rivercourt, Lucas quickly flipped through the memories of the two of them together. What happened the last time she ran? When she last ran away from her house out of fear and anger, whilst she unintentionally ran towards him? Where did she end up?

In that instant he knew where she was... and thinking about it, he must have always known, because he knew her better than anyone, probably even better than Brooke, which was saying something. He was hit with a moment of clarity, something he hadn't experienced since winning the state championship game.

Swinging back around, he ran back in the direction of his mom's house to get his car. He couldn't possibly run after her considering her head start and his heart condition. Jumping up the porch steps, he flew into his room to grab something before finding his car keys and jumping into his car.

"Luke?" he heard his mom call from somewhere inside the house, but he didn't wait around to see her. The sun was slowly setting, causing the temperature to drop drastically, and he knew it was paramount that he found her as soon as possible. Slamming his foot onto the accelerator, with a screech of his tyres, he sped away from the curb towards his destination, and within a couple of minutes of insane driving through the thankfully empty streets, he finally arrived at his location.

She had finally stopped running, which he knew was a good thing, but he was unsure as to how he should approach her. Considering her reaction to his presence the last time, Lucas was nervous as he slowly walked towards her, but his heart wouldn't let him consider anything else this time.

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><p>Let me know what you think x<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

A/N - I would like to thnk everyone who reviewed, you are all awesome and totally make my day! Once again, I have at least another two stories that I am working on, so expect to hear from me soon :) xx

As always I do not own OTH or any of the characters.

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><p>Peyton finally stopped running, but only because she had run out of land on which to run. Pulling off her well worn pair of Converse and rolling the hems of her jeans up around her slim calves, she stepped slowly into the cool water. Her heart was breaking, and her mind had far too much to deal with at this moment in time, so she opted for numbness. At least then she didn't have to feel anything, and this lack of feeling was radiating from her cold feet. With the cool water causing goose bumps to travel up her legs to her back, Peyton concentrated on this feeling, somehow being totally disconnected from the world, whilst at the same time being connected to her father, even though he was miles away.<p>

He had been there, barely ten feet away from her, but all she felt radiating from him was anger and rejection, and that hurt more than anything else. In the distance she could hear the light traffic on the road, but no-one stopped to take notice of the broken hearted girl on the edge of the shore.

Watching the sun set in the distance, she eventually shuffled backwards out of the water onto the dry section of sand, curling her legs into her chest and wrapping her arms around her knees. She wished desperately that people didn't always leave, but she had more evidence to the contrary, and her head wouldn't let her heart believe the lie of 'sometimes they come back'. The only person that had ever returned on a permanent basis was Haley, but that was for Nathan not for her, so she didn't really count.

The temperature was dropping by the minute, causing her worn out muscles to shiver involuntarily, but Peyton didn't have the strength to stand, physically or mentally. Resting her forehead onto her knees, Peyton closed her eyes. In the distance she could hear the throaty rumblings of a car as it passed, which was quickly followed by the screech of brakes and the slamming of a door, but still Peyton didn't bother looking up.

"Peyton?" she heard someone breathe out her name, and she could almost feel the apology he was trying to squeeze into that one word. The soft hair covering her arm flickered as his presence slowly sank down to the sand next to her, and his rough hand hesitantly touched her bare shoulder, but her only reaction was a violent shiver as her muscles tensed under his touch.

"Peyton, honey, your freezing," Lucas eventually stated, touching her shoulder more confidently and she raised her head from her knees. "Here put this on."

Peyton's eyes travelled up from the sand to the large mass of grey material he held in his hands. Unclenching her fingers, she slowly reached out to the one piece of clothing that always make her feel safe and warm. Pulling it over her head, she buried her nose into the fabric to fill her lungs with his scent.

"Come on... let's get you home," Lucas whispered, reaching out gently to move a piece of hair back behind her ear.

"I don't have a home," Peyton fired back, causing Lucas to retract his hand quickly and she concentrated on burying her hands into the sleeves of his hoody, and for the first time looking up into his deep blue eyes before staring out across the water.

"God, Peyton I am so sorry," Lucas whispered, for the first time saying the words out loud.

"For what?" Peyton asked indifferently, as she tried to maintain her nonchalant appearance for the sake of her heart.

"For all sorts of things," Lucas replied, using the words she had spoken a couple of weeks into their junior year, and her eyes swung away from the sea. "I'm sorry I broke all of my promises to you... I'm sorry for the past couple of months, and I'm sorry for walking out on you in LA." Peyton saw how he cringed at the last one, and her heart beat painfully with the memory. She watched as he shuffled the tiniest bit closer to her across the sand, and she couldn't help the hope that flashed through her heart, causing tears to form in her eyes again. This would be the first time she had actually cried in front of him since LA, and she could see the pain flood his eyes as though he was also feeling her pain.

"Peyt," Lucas whispered, running his thumb gently across her cheek as the first of her tears fell. "Let's go home."

Nodding her head, she let Lucas help her to her feet, and he ducked down to grab her Converse out of the sand, before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and gently guiding her back to his car. Sliding down onto the leather seat, she watched through her tears as Lucas fumbled with the ignition, flipping switches until the heater pumped out warm air.

Her heart was still in pain, but with Lucas this close it wasn't hurting as bad. It was back to the usual dull ache she felt during this week.

* * *

><p>Lucas turned away from the heater and looked into her tear filled green eyes and his resistance cracked. Running his fingertips gently across the damp cheek, he wrapped his other arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his chest, noticing the way she fit perfect into the curve of his neck. He could feel her tiny frame shake as the sobs ripped through her body, and he realized how much weight she had lost since he had last seen her.<p>

Holding her tighter, Lucas dropped his face into her curls, breathing in the smell of her shampoo, and refusing to move until her tears have run dry. The sun was now complete set, but they just sat there in the dark, listening to the sounds of their breathing and feeling the other's heart beat through every inch of their connected skin.

Eventually her tears subsided and her shivers ceased, and Lucas knew from her breathing that she had fallen asleep in his arms, against his chest. A place she had fallen asleep on more than one occasion, as it was a place where she felt safe.

Twisting around slightly, but keeping her tucked safely against him, Lucas slid the car into gear and headed home. Pulling up next to the curb, he could see the bright lights of his bedroom radiating across the porch, and he carefully slid out of the car with Peyton still in his arms. She flinched in her sleep, so he paused for a second to press his lips against her forehead, smoothing out the lines that had formed before continuing up the path. His mom met him at the door with a small smile on her face as she welcomed him back into the house, and she quickly moved across the room to pull back the blankets on Lucas' bed.

Slowly resting her softly against the mattress, Lucas was surprised when her fingers curled into a section of his shirt, stopping him from moving away from the bed, and she half woke from her sleep.

"It's okay baby, I'm not going anywhere," he whispered into her ear to reassure her. "Not this time," he added on for his benefit, whilst sliding into bed next to her. Moving in her sleep, Peyton shuffled across the bed to rest her head against his chest, and the sound of his heart beat lulled her back into a deep sleep.

Lucas spent the next couple of hours just watching her sleep, and stroking her back softly every time her brow furrowed or she mumbled nonsense words in the dark. Sometime in the early hours of the morning she flipped over on the mattress, pulling a pillow against her chest and burying her head into the fabric. He reached out to pull her long curls away from her face, before shuffling to the edge of the bed to reach into one of the drawer.

There, buried under a pile of his socks, was a large brown envelope that had yet to be opened. Ripping open the packet, he reached inside to gently prise out the contents, placing it carefully against the sheets, whilst sliding out of bed and searching his desk for a pen and a notepad. Chewing on the end, he spent the next hour debating what to write, and finally he stopped thinking and wrote what his heart was telling him.

* * *

><p>Groaning quietly as she turned over, Peyton's whole body ached and her mind was fuzzy. Trying to recall the events of the day before, she grabbed a section of the duvet to pull it closer to her body, but something felt weird. It didn't feel like one of her blankets, and for the first time in a really long time she felt safe.<p>

Suddenly the previous day came flooding back. The fight, the beach, the tears, the heartache and the healing. Yanking her eyes open, fighting the remains of her dried on mascara, Peyton was met with an empty room and the awful sense of déjà vu.

"Luke?" she whispered softly, hoping that the memories where not just a dream, Peyton quickly sat up, pulling the blankets up into her chest. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something slide down the pillow, and she prayed that it wasn't another one of her CDs.

Reaching out, she realized that it was a book. 'An Unkindness of Ravens' was embossed neatly on the front, and she knew exactly what this was. Wedged in between the pages close to the back was a folded piece of paper, and Peyton slid her finger in that point to carefully open the stiff new spine. The additional page was filled with Lucas' familiar untidy handwriting, and she took a shaky breath before reading.

_Peyton, I received this book through the mail a couple of weeks ago, but I couldn't bring myself to open it until now. I knew what the contents were, and it was a dream come true, but I knew it would mean nothing unless you were by my side. I told you once that I was going to love you forever, and even though we have been physically separated, you have never left my heart. Every word in this book is for you, and if you still don't believe me then the first paragraph of the chapter behind this page should be proof._

_Love always, Lucas._

Peyton felt her heart beat painfully inside her chest. She has never been able to resist Lucas' words, and she nervously removed the loose piece of paper, carefully resting in on the bedside table before focusing her attention on the paragraph.

'_Chapter 16 – State Championship'_ Peyton read, and she instantly relived that moment from the year before in her mind, before she continued reading. _'Suddenly it was as if the roar of the crowd, the echo of the final buzzer, and the cheers of my team-mates were sounding from a thousand miles away, and what remained in that bizarre, muffled silence was only Peyton. The girl, whose art and passion and beauty, had changed my life. In that moment, my triumph was not a state championship, but simple clarity. The realization that we had always been meant for each other and every instinct to the contrary had simply been a denial of the following truth: I was now... I would always be in love with Peyton Sawyer.'_

"Peyton?" she heard her name begin called, and she ripped her eyes away from he page, quickly blinking back tears. Damn that boy and his words. Looking up, she saw Lucas leaning against his bedroom door frame with a look of concern mixed with embarrassment on his face. Meeting his deep blue eyes, he subconsciously moved closer to her, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Did you mean it?" Peyton asked quietly, dropping her gaze back down to the book for a moment and touching the words with her fingertips.

"I _do _mean it... I've always loved you," Lucas replied, gently taking the book out of her hands and placing it on the table with his note, before touching her chin with his finger so that she looked up again.

His deep blue eyes told Peyton everything she needed to know, and with a trembling hand, she reached out to gently touch his cheek. He leaned into her touch, giving Peyton her strength and fire back. Sliding her hand around his neck into his short blonde hair, she leant forwards and her eyes fluttered shut as he met her halfway. The instant their lips met it was as though the past couple of months had been washed clean. Peyton felt one of his hands ghost across her hip to her back, and she moved closer to him to deepen the kiss.

Lucas pulled back for a moment, giving her a chance to catch her breath, before pulling her flush against his chest to kiss her again. Reaching up with her free hand to his shoulder, she applied a gentle pressure, and he responded instantly by falling backwards onto the mattress and pulling her with him. Peyton's long messy curls fell forwards around her face, and she pulled away with a small giggle as she moved them over her shoulder.

"I love you too," she whispered into his ear, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest and pressing a kiss to her forehead. With her ear pressed against his heart, she could hear its rapid beating in time with her own, and she knew that this is where she belonged. And this time, nothing was going to tear them apart.


End file.
